Thai Laksa

19. January, 2009

I know that the recipe seems very, very complicated. It actually is not, as long as you have some spare time to prepare it which is why I never attempt to make these kind of recipes mid week, I prefer weekends when I have more time and then I really enjoy it. If I am stressed I don't enjoy making food which requires me to think too much (that usually results in broken and spilled things on my kitchen floor.....usually by accident, not out of frustration!).

I usually break this recipe down into two parts and often prepare it over 2 days. I start with making the paste on a Friday evening and making the rest on the Saturday, long before dinner time. The world Laksa actually means "ten thousand", reflecting all the different ingredients you can add to this wonderful soup base. If you are vegan you will have to omit the fish sauce and shrimp paste, perhaps using tamari sauce instead. If you like chicken, you can add some cooked chicken in the soup or even fish if you have some leftovers. Just make sure you use only free range chicken. This soup is perfect if you are lactose- and/or gluten intolerant because there are no milk ingredients and I use rice noodles although you can use other if you are ok with using gluten. Note that you might be able to buy Thai Laksa Paste, just make sure it is organic and doesn't include gluten or milk ingredients if you are intolerant to these food items.

Note that tamarind paste and tamari sauce are two very different ingredients. You might be able to source the tamarind paste (and shrimp paste) from a supermarket specializing in Asian food ingredients or in a large supermarket with a well stocked Asian section. Tamari sauce you will find in your local health food store (or larger supermarkets).

Note also that you will need a food processor (or a hand blender) to make this recipe.

Preparation

Paste - Method:

Trim the roots and tough top of the 3 lemon grass stems away, leaving about 15 centimetres (6 inches) of stem. Remove the outer skin and chop the lemon grass quite finely.

De-seed the 4 chillies and chop coarsely.

Remove the skin off the ginger (you can do this with a spoon or a small knife since the skin is thin). Chop finely.

Peel the 3 garlic cloves and chop coarsely

Peel the 3 scallions and chop coarsely.

Place the 1 teaspoon shrimp paste, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, chillies, ginger, scallions, garlic cloves in the food processor and blend for 1 minute. You might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue blending.